The Word (song)

"The Word" is a song by English rock group the Beatles, written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney and recorded with Lennon on lead vocals. It was first released on their 1965 album Rubber Soul.

"The Word"
Label of Philippine 7-inch single
Song by the Beatles
from the album Rubber Soul
Released3 December 1965
Recorded10 November 1965
StudioEMI, London
GenreRock,[1] rhythm and blues[2]
Length2:41
LabelParlophone
Songwriter(s)Lennon–McCartney
Producer(s)George Martin

Composition

The song was co-written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney. According to Lennon, it was written together but it was "mainly mine".[3] They wrote it after smoking marijuana, something they had not done before in a composing session, which from McCartney's perspective (opposite to Lennon's), "got in the way of songwriting". McCartney on the subject:

We smoked a bit of pot, then we wrote out a multicoloured lyric sheet, the first time we'd ever done that. We normally didn't smoke when we were working. It got in the way of songwriting because it would just cloud your mind up – "Oh, shit, what are we doing?" It's better to be straight. But we did this multicolour thing.[4]

Music

Musically, the song is founded on a driving funk beat, with few chord changes and a simple melody in the key of D major.[5][6] (The refrain is a 12 bar blues in D. The main chord is D7(♯9), also used in "Drive My Car" and "Taxman". The two line verse uses D7, C7, F13, and G7.)

Paul McCartney said of this song, "John and I would like to do songs with just one note like 'Long Tall Sally'. We get near it in 'The Word'".[7]

George Martin plays the harmonium solo in the track. McCartney, Lennon, and Harrison sing the song in three-part harmony. Lennon sings the middle eight by himself.

Samples from this song are also included on Love released in November 2006, in the track "Drive My Car/The Word/What You're Doing".

John Lennon gave Yoko Ono the original sheets to the song just before their relationship began.

Reception

In his review for the 50th anniversary of Rubber Soul, Jacob Albano of Classic Rock Review writes that "The Word" is the first song on its parent album not to be "absolutely excellent," calling the harmonies "a bit too forced."[8] However, Albano still considered the song "entertaining", and complimented the "piano backdrop" and Starr's drum performance.[8]

In 2018, the music staff of Time Out London ranked "The Word" at number 33 on their list of the best Beatles songs.[9]

Live performances

Paul McCartney has played a medley version of "The Word"/"All You Need Is Love" on his On the Run Tour.

Personnel
Personnel per Ian MacDonald[10]

Covers

Notes
  1. Hamelman, Steven L. (2004). But Is It Garbage?: On Rock and Trash. University of Georgia Press. p. 11.
  2. Young, Alex (19 September 2009). "Album Review: The Beatles – Rubber Soul". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 7 February 2019.
  3. "Beatles Songwriting & Recording Database: Rubber Soul". Beatlesinterviews.org. Retrieved 21 August 2011.
  4. Miles 1997, p. 272.
  5. Pollack 1993.
  6. MacDonald 2005, p. 498.
  7. Aldridge 1990, p. 24.
  8. Albano, Jacob (3 December 2015). "Rubber Soul by The Beatles". Classic Rock Review. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
  9. Time Out London Music (24 May 2018). "The 50 Best Beatles songs". Time Out London. Retrieved 4 March 2019.
  10. MacDonald 2005, p. 178.
  11. "Blue Man Group – The Word". YouTube.

References
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